[Feature] capture_non_tensor_stack

ghstack-source-id: 86a79f8b5aad255f3c1cffb821e71b9d06378fdb
Pull Request resolved: #1221

tensordict/tensorclass.py

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
     _TENSORCLASS_MEMO,
     _unravel_key_to_tuple,
     _zip_strict,
+    capture_non_tensor_stack,
     DeviceType,
     IndexType,
     is_tensorclass,
@@ -3219,7 +3220,7 @@ def _stack_non_tensor(cls, list_of_non_tensor, dim=0, raise_if_non_unique=False)
 
         ids = set()
         firstdata = NO_DEFAULT
-        return_stack = False
+        return_stack = capture_non_tensor_stack(allow_none=True)
         for data in list_of_non_tensor:
             if not isinstance(data, NonTensorData):
                 if raise_if_non_unique:
@@ -3242,8 +3243,18 @@ def _stack_non_tensor(cls, list_of_non_tensor, dim=0, raise_if_non_unique=False)
                 return_stack = True
                 break
         else:
-            return_stack = False
+            return_stack = capture_non_tensor_stack(allow_none=True)
         if not return_stack:
+            if return_stack is None:
+                warnings.warn(
+                    "The default behavior of stacking non-tensor data will change in "
+                    "version v0.9 and switch from True to False (current default). "
+                    "To prepare for this change, use set_capture_non_tensor_stack(val: bool) as a decorator or context "
+                    "manager, or set the environment variable CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK "
+                    "to 'False'.",
+                    FutureWarning,
+                    stacklevel=2,
+                )
             batch_size = list(first.batch_size)
             batch_size.insert(dim, len(list_of_non_tensor))
             return NonTensorData(

tensordict/utils.py

@@ -2121,6 +2121,89 @@ def _legacy_lazy(func):
     return func
 
 
+# non tensor stack control
+_DEFAULT_CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK = False
+_CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK = os.environ.get("CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK")
+
+
+class set_capture_non_tensor_stack(_DecoratorContextManager):
+    """A context manager or decorator to control whether identical non-tensor data should be stacked into a single NonTensorData object or a NonTensorStack.
+
+    Args:
+        mode (bool): Whether to capture non-tensor stacks. If ``True``, identical
+            non-tensor data will be stacked into a :class:`~tensordict.NonTensorStack`. If ``False``,
+            a single NonTensorData object will contain the unique value, but with the desired batch-size.
+            Defaults to ``False``.
+
+    .. note:: Until v0.9, this will raise a warning if the same value is encountered and the value is not set
+        explicitly. You can set the value of :func:`~tensordict.capture_non_tensor_stack` through:
+
+        - The ``CAPTURE_NON_TENSOR_STACK`` environment variable;
+        - By setting ``set_capture_non_tensor_stack(val: bool).set()`` at the beginning of your script;
+        - By using ``set_capture_non_tensor_stack(val: bool)`` as a context manager or a decorator.
+
+    .. seealso:: :class:`~tensordict.capture_non_tensor_stack`
+
+    Examples:
+        >>> with set_capture_non_tensor_stack(False):
+        ...     torch.stack([NonTensorData("a"), NonTensorData("a")])
+        NonTensorData("a", batch_size=[2])
+        >>> @set_capture_non_tensor_stack(True)
+        ... def my_function():
+        ...     return torch.stack([NonTensorData("a"), NonTensorData("a")])
+        >>> my_function()
+        NonTensorStack(["a", "a"], stack_dim=0)
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, mode: bool) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self.mode = mode
+
+    def clone(self) -> set_capture_non_tensor_stack:
+        # override this method if your children class takes __init__ parameters
+        return type(self)(self.mode)
+
+    def __enter__(self) -> None:
+        self.set()
+
+    def set(self) -> None:
+        global _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK
+        self._old_mode = _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK
+        _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK = bool(self.mode)
+        # we do this such that sub-processes see the same lazy op than the main one
+        os.environ["CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK"] = str(_CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK)
+
+    def __exit__(self, exc_type: Any, exc_value: Any, traceback: Any) -> None:
+        global _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK
+        _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK = bool(self._old_mode)
+        os.environ["CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK"] = str(_CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK)
+
+
+def capture_non_tensor_stack(allow_none=False):
+    """Get the current setting for capturing non-tensor stacks.
+
+    Args:
+        allow_none (bool, optional): If ``True``, returns ``None`` if no setting has been
+            specified. Otherwise, returns the default setting. Defaults to ``False``.
+
+    seealso: :func:`~tensordict.set_capture_non_tensor_stack`
+
+    Returns:
+        bool or None: The current setting for capturing non-tensor stacks.
+
+    """
+    global _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK
+    if _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK is None and allow_none:
+        return None
+    elif _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK is None:
+        return _DEFAULT_CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK
+    return (
+        strtobool(_CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK)
+        if isinstance(_CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK, str)
+        else _CAPTURE_NONTENSOR_STACK
+    )
+
+
 # Process initializer for map
 def _proc_init(base_seed, queue, num_threads):
     worker_id = queue.get(timeout=120)